In Case You Missed It (v16)

Given the holiday, family time, and of course the sitting around basking in the nothing-doing, this was a light week for posts. Let me bring you up to date.

I got to a few of the Sunday School classrooms, chasing Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar as they made the rounds. The post  started with Booker's visit to Meet the Press.

They talked about Speaker Nancy Pelosi holding the articles, not sending them to the Senate. Booker said he feels she's really trying to do what she can to ensure there is a fair trial in the Senate. And, in response to Todd's question about whether calling the Bidens to appear was just a plan to "sort of make the witness requests a mutual assured political destruction?"

Booker's answer was perfect:  I'm exhausted, frankly, of the Biden aspect of this.

I agree with him on that.

Because, he noted, the Bidens don't speak "in any way that's germane to the president's behavior," and he's 1000% right. This should be about the president, not about the Bidens.  

Klobuchar appeared in two classrooms; here's an excerpt from her conversation on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, 

who opened with a clip from SNL's cold open featuring, among others, Rachel Dratch as Klobuchar. The Senator thought Dratch did a good job. And, when Brennan asked about her "aggressive" performance, Klobuchar denied that she's changed her tactics since her middle-of-a-blizzard candidacy announcement. She also noted

I have passed over a hundred bills in the United States Senate during a really difficult time. And I have won in the reddest of red districts and won with suburban and rural voters and Republicans and independents and a fired up Democratic base. I think that's a good case to be made.  

I also had thoughts on how Congressman John Katko, who represents my NY district, communicates with constituents like me, which I shared in Asked, But Not Answered. That'll give you an idea of my frustration with Katko.

In a nutshell, I wanted him to respond to my specific questions about the statement his office released on why he was going to vote against impeachment. I knew he was a no vote, and indicated that in my comments to him - so I was quite surprised when he explained to me in detail how impeachment works, including the responsibilities of the House and Senate. Geez, Louise: first, I already know that, and second, that's not what I asked!

It didn't get any better after that, I can assure you. Which left me thinking.

This response could have written to you, the person sitting next to you, or the person sitting on the other side of them. It's remarkably similar to the response a friend of mine received, after she reached out with very different questions touching on the impeachment inquiry.

It's funny - she's now a former registered Republican, and I'm a former registered Democrat. We've both voted for Katko in the past.

We won't be doing that again.

No, we won't. 

And finally, I tackled the heavy lifting that is determining the Democratic presidential candidate Email of the Week.  And I wimped out - sorry!

Because we're in the midst of holiday season - Hanukkah, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the upcoming New Year, etc. - I decided to see how the candidates referenced the holidays. Instead of singling any one of them out for the coveted honor, I'll share all of their emails in full.

That's right - I decided to be kinder for the holidays, and share the whole shebang.

I received messages from all of the candidates I'm still following - well, all of them except Bernie Sanders. He was also the only one from whom I didn't receive Thanksgiving greetings, so at least he's consistent. 

Two candidates sent Christmas Cards; two sent Christmas messages, and one was sort of a combo. Here are excerpts from the 'message' emails. Can you figure out who's who? Here's a hint for you: two are senators, one is not. Two are men, one is not.

It’s a time of joy and a time you get to spend with loved ones. This year, I’ll be with my wonderful family, my friends, and girlfriend. We’ll enjoy a few nice meals, relaxed days, and best of all, vegan eggnog (for anyone who’s not down with dairy, it’s a game-changer, check it out). 

Happy Holidays! The holiday season is upon us, and whether you celebrate these holidays or something else, or nothing at all, I hope you take these next few days as an opportunity to rest and reflect, to spend time with loved ones, to practice kindness, and, most importantly, to make room for joy.

The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to spend time with those we love. And for me, this season feels even brighter than usual: I’m so uplifted and encouraged by people all over America who share my optimism for the future of this country. 

That's it for the week, but have no fear - we'll be back to full form next week, and I'll have a recap of the 2019 posts.  I'm looking forward to that stroll down memory lane; I hope you are too.